


"Kiss with a Fist"

by BerylSpring



Series: The Lungs Series [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst and Feels, Case Fic, Domestic Violence, F/M, Ghost Possession, Ghosts, Historical References, Jealous Dean, Jealousy, Mark of Cain, Motel, Rage, Romance, Suggestive Themes, Texas, The Boys Finally Go to the Beach!!, dean in swim trunks, the truth comes out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 02:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5725729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerylSpring/pseuds/BerylSpring
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Riley and the Winchester brothers work a case involving a jilted lover, the relationship blooming between Dean and Riley is tested once again when she gets a true taste of the darkness lurking beneath the surface, and she finds out about the Mark of Cain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This installment takes place immediately after the events of part four “Howl”.
> 
> Side note: Thank you all for reading! I'm excited to get back into this series so I hope you like this installment. Let me know if you like it!

**Galveston, Texas**

Laughter erupted through ballroom as the couple celebrating their 40th anniversary entertained their guests with a silly choreographed number to an old Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney number. Ashley Kramer smiled at her grandparents as they danced surprisingly well. When the number ended, the crowd applauded wildly and the band struck up a slow jazz number, bringing more people out on the dance floor to sway with their partners. Ashley finished the last sip of her champagne and slid it onto the empty tray of one of the servers who walked by, with a sheepish smile. He smiled back at her and nodded.

It was getting late and the party didn’t seem to be winding down anytime soon, so she decided to go to the ladies room and freshen up a bit. The historic mansion that her grandparents had rented out for the festivities was large and ornate, and was the oldest brick structure in all of the state. Ashley didn’t know the history of the home, but she knew it was old, and she could imagine the beautiful belles of Texas that must have walked through its halls so long ago in their hoop skirts and corsets. The dresses they wore back then were so beautiful, but judging by the way the boning in her modern dress was poking her in the ribs, they must have been extremely uncomfortable. Oh the price women pay for beauty.

When she walked by the elegantly curved staircase in the main entrance, she heard someone arguing up on the third floor landing. Across the foot of the stairs was a long rope with a sign that read “Employees Only”, and she wondered who could be up there. Her curiosity piqued, she looked up between the curves of the railings and listened to see what she could hear. It sounded like a young man and woman arguing heatedly, but she couldn’t make out much of what they were saying. She heard a loud thwack and suddenly the woman was screaming as she fell over the railing headfirst and landed with a bloody thump before Ashley’s feet.

Ashley let out a shriek that could raise the dead as she looked down at the woman’s blood-soaked evening gown.

 

*****

 

Riley rolled over and opened her eyes to find Dean staring back at her. He crooked one side of his mouth up in a half-smile and brushed away a strand of hair that hung loosely over her face. She smiled back at him and stretched her arms up over her head, yawning and extending her muscles all the way down to her toes, making him chuckle.

“Ouch,” she said, rolling her shoulder back and forth as the muscle twitched sharply.

“You alright?” Dean asked.

She smiled, “Yeah, I must have just pulled a muscle or something.”

“Turn around,” he directed, but she looked at him warily, “Just turn around!”

Giving him a warning look, she did as instructed, and her suspicion lifted when she felt his strong hand massage into the muscle. She let out a contented sigh as his thumb pressed down firmly into the knot that was causing the discomfort. Dean continued to work the tension out, but he found his other hand wandering down her arm and smoothing over her bare belly. They had both stripped down to their underwear before getting into bed last night, but all they had done was snuggle up together and fall asleep. He wanted so badly to touch her. Riley placed her hand on his and interlaced their fingers. His lips touched down on her shoulder and she turned her face up to his only to be rewarded with another kiss, this time on her lips.

Twisting back in his arms to face him, Riley smoothed her hand up the back of his neck and into his hair as she pressed her lips to his. Their mouths moved against each other in a dry embrace until Dean slipped his tongue out between her lips, parting them just enough for him to deepen the kiss. He pulled her flush up against him and their hands continued to explore each other’s bodies. Riley slid her hand down his right arm and thumbed over a raised patch of skin just below the inside of his elbow, causing him to flinch and bring his arm away.

“What is that?” she asked, curiously as she grabbed his arm gently and examined the red shape.

Dean looked down at it, watching her trace the Mark of Cain with her delicate fingers, “It’s just a birth mark.”

“Hmm, it’s pretty distinct,” she said, “I never noticed it before.”

“That’s cause you’ve never seen me naked before,” Dean claimed as he wrapped his arm back around her and started kissing her neck to distract her.

She giggled as he nibbled at her earlobe, “Actually I have seen you like this before. Twice, in fact! You seem to have a habit of being half-naked in front of me.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it,” he quipped and resumed exploring her mouth with his tongue.

A knock on the door pulled them away from each other, an irritated groan emanating from Dean’s throat.

“What, Sam?” he grumbled.

“You two up?” Sam questioned through the door, “I think I found a case!”

Dean rolled his eyes at Riley, “No rest for the wicked I guess.”

She smiled back at him sympathetically, after all she was enjoying herself too, and he gave her another quick peck before they got up and got dressed. Her bag was still in the car so she stretched into her jeans from the night before and borrowed one of Dean’s flannel shirts, knotting it up at her waist, so that she didn’t have to put on her blood-stained tee. When they were both presentable, Dean grabbed her by the hand and they walked together down the corridor and into the library, where they untangled themselves and took a seat opposite each other at the table where Sam was reading a newspaper article on his laptop.

“This better be good, Sam!” Dean barked, clearly in a bad mood from being interrupted.

“Galveston, Texas,” he began, turning the laptop so that Dean and Riley could see, “a woman supposedly fell over a third story railing to her death at the Ashton Villa Mansion while the place was being rented out for an anniversary party.”

“So? How is that our problem?” Dean huffed.

Sam made his best bitchface, “Because, there was a witness who said she heard the woman arguing with someone before she fell, but when the owner went upstairs to look no one was there and all the windows were securely locked from the inside. No way anyone got out without someone seeing them.”

“So did she fall, or do you think she was pushed?” Riley asked, intrigued by the picture of the old Italianate Victorian mansion.

Sam shrugged, “I don’t know, but this wouldn’t be the first time someone encountered a ghost there. The house has a history of sightings going all the way back to the Civil War.”

“Well, we’d better get on the road then,” Dean said with a sigh, “that’s like half a day’s drive.”

 

*****

 

Sam came out of the office of the Surf Motel with a key to room 20 in his hand and instructed Dean to park alongside the sidewalk at the front. Once Baby was situated, Dean and Riley got out and stretched their legs, breathing in the salty, ocean air from the Gulf which was directly across the street. It had been a good long while since Dean had seen the coastline and the bad mood he had been in all day lifted as soon as he saw it. Maybe they could make quick work of this case and spend a day lying on the beach. He’d love to see Riley frolicking in the waves in a bikini.

“Dean, you coming?” Riley said, breaking him from his fantasy.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he responded, throwing his duffle bag over his shoulder.

The room was on the second floor and was teeny tiny. There were two queen-sized beds, but each was touching one end of the room with just a small nightstand squeezed between them. The path between the end of the beds and the dresser was barely wide enough for the boys to get by and the bathroom was so small you almost had to rest your legs up on the sink to sit on the toilet. Riley enjoyed the boy’s company, but it was going to be close quarters the next day or so. Luckily, a slider opened up onto a long, shared balcony that spanned the front of the hotel and looked out over the surf. At least it was extra space to spread out if things got too cramped.

They decided they were hungry, so they walked a few doors down to a beach bar called Riptide and sat at a high-top table by the front window. Dean got right to it and ordered the Big Kahuna burger with extra onions, and Sam and Riley decided to split a turkey club and side of fries receiving a look of derision from their dinner companion. They all had a round of beer and talked about the case while they waited for their food. Sam wanted to get a jump on things and sneak into the Ashton Villa later that night to get some EMF readings, but Dean complained that he wanted to check out the beach and that they could get straight to work tomorrow. There was some arguing between the two of them, which Riley just sat back and watched, and the decision was made that they would have some fun tonight and pick up first thing in the morning by interviewing the witness.

When they finished eating, they had another round of drinks and listened to a local band start their set. Dean wasn’t feeling the emo rock they were playing, and he wanted to go find a store to buy swim trunks. He was going in that water if it was the last thing he’d do. He excused himself for a minute telling them to wait there for him while he walked to the Wings Beachwear up the street. When he came back he had two big yellow shopping bags in hand and when they asked him what the hell he bought, he shushed them and said it was a surprise. Sam paid their tab and they headed back to the motel room. Dean went straight into the bathroom and when he came out he was in a brand new pair of swim shorts with a big ass grin on his face.

“We’re going swimming,” he said excitedly.

Riley and Sam looked at one another trying to contain their laughter at his boyish enthusiasm. Although Riley didn’t think he looked that bad in his bathing suit. It exposed his muscular chest that had been hiding since they got dressed that morning.

“Um, Dean, you’re the only one that has a suit,” Riley said with a smirk.

Dean shook his head and pulled out a little red string bikini and held it out to her. Little was an understatement. That thing looked like it would barely cover her nipples. She didn’t want to be ungrateful or ruin Dean’s idea of fun for the evening, but she wasn’t sure she could wear that. Noticing the look on her face he rolled his eyes and pulled out another more conservative option which earned him a smile and a kiss on the cheek before she went into the bathroom to change. When she came out of the bathroom, both the boys gave a low whistle, and Dean slapped his brother upside the head for ogling his girl.

“Sam, are you coming with us?” Riley asked, and Dean took that as his cue to pull out Sam’s suit.

“This one’s for you,” he said with a cheeky grin as he pulled out a bright yellow speedo.

Sam made a face like he knew it was coming and waved it off, “You guys go and have fun. I’m gonna do some more research on the mansion.”

“Sam, why do you hate fun?” Dean asked, half-seriously.

His brother just shook his head and ignored the comment.

Grabbing two beach towels out of the second shopping bag, he handed one to Riley and then wrapped his arm around her waist to guide her out the door. The sun was just setting on the horizon as they hit the sand, and the beach was mostly vacant since it was still dinnertime and the off season. It was October, so the temperatures were cooler, even in Texas, and the breeze that came off the water was a bit chilly. They laid their towels down side by side on the sand and sat down together. Dean wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm, and selfishly to leech off some of her body heat too. He had been looking forward to going for a swim, but it might be too cold for that.

“This is nice,” Riley voiced, leaning her head against Dean’s shoulder.

He kissed the top of her head and looked out over the water, listening to the waves as they crashed on the shore. It was nice, being here with her. The thought occurred to him that he had almost screwed this up before it started, and he was thankful that she seemed to be blind to his faults. The two of them watched the sun set to the West, and then decided it was too cold to sit there in swimwear. Dean was disappointed he didn’t get to enjoy the beach more, but Riley promised that when they finished the case, she would talk Sam into spending another day so they could all enjoy a little vacation.

After they got back to the room, the two of them changed into something more comfortable and joined Sam who was out on the balcony with his computer in his lap. He had been looking into the history of the mansion and relayed the juicy details of the home’s historic inhabitants. There wasn’t much to go on as far as possible vengeful spirits, but perhaps something would present itself after they talked to the witness and the current owners. They shared another beer, and then decided to get some rest so they could get a fresh start in the morning. Riley climbed into bed with Dean and curled up in his arms like the night before while Sam had the other bed to himself.

In the middle of the night, Riley awoke to Dean whimpering in his sleep. His head was rolling back and forth on the pillow and his face took on a pained countenance. She brought her hand up to his cheek and shushed him, which temporarily calmed him and the tension in his face released. A few moments later he turned on his side towards her and made a grunting noise before his right hand flailed in the air, almost slamming into her arm. She caught his wrist and shook him awake, his eyes opening wide with a start, his breathing labored.

“It’s okay, Dean,” she said softly, “it’s me. You were having a nightmare.”

He took a deep breath and relaxed, bringing his hand up to stroke her cheek lovingly. Dean kissed her and then rolled over onto his back putting his arm up over his eyes for a brief moment. Riley watched him as he regained his composure, but out of the corner of her eye she could’ve sworn she saw his birthmark glowing red in the dim light of the room. She reached out and grabbed his wrist to pull his arm back off his forehead and examined the mark. It seemed normal, rubbing her fingers over it again like she had done earlier that morning. It must have been a trick of the light or something. Dean pulled his arm away gently and rolled back towards her, encouraging her to roll away from him, and he spooned her until they both fell back asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

“Thank you for your time, Ms. Kramer,” Sam said before stepping off the front porch and returning to where Dean and Riley were waiting, leaning against the Impala.

“Well, does her story match up with the research you did last night?” Dean asked.

Sam tilted his head in confusion, “Somewhat. She’s adamant that she heard two voices up on the landing, a man and a woman, and that matches up with the caretaker’s story about a male and female entity arguing, but she says it was on the third floor landing. Most of the sightings either took place on the second floor at the top of the stairs or in the Gold Room.”

“Maybe she was mistaken,” Riley offered, “who knows how sound travels in a house that big.”

“It’s possible, I guess,” Sam confirmed.

“Well, let’s get over to the crime scene and see what we can see,” Dean stated, walking around to the driver’s side and climbing in.

As they drove Sam went over the history of the house with them again so they could put their heads together and narrow down their possibilities. The mansion was built in the mid-eighteen hundreds by a wealthy hardware businessman named James Brown. It was used as a hospital during the Civil War and had gone through the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. James’ daughter Bettie Brown was a bit of an eccentric, but was considered royalty to many as she spent her time in luxury, traveling and collecting all kinds of exotic things.

“Wait, did you say it was built by James Brown?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, why?” Sam responded somewhat perplexed.

“Heaaaay!” Dean wailed in imitation, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Sam stared back at him with his usual look of disparagement, “Wrong, James Brown, Dean.”

“All I’m saying is I feel gooood!” He smirked.

Sam’s face didn’t change, and when he glanced back at Riley her eyebrows were tilted up at him incredulously. Dean grumbled something about the two of them having no sense of humor and then Sam continued. It was the daughter that most people claimed to have seen in the house. He wasn’t sure who the man was, but it was speculated it could have been one of her many suitors. Sam suggested that they check the house for EMF to make sure it was a ghost and then figure out where she was planted, salt and burn the remains, and it should be a done deal.

When they got to the house, Dean let out a long whistle at its grandeur. It had been taken over by the Historical Society, and they had restored it to its former glory, all the ornate bells and whistles in place. An older woman representing the group was waiting for them on the front walk. Riley had put in a call to set up an official visit so that they didn’t have to break in. Sometimes, all you had to do was ask; well and lie about who you were, but that wasn’t the important part.

“Ms. Robertson? I’m Agent Rose, these are my colleagues Agents McKagan and Reed,” Riley shook the woman’s hand, “Thank you for meeting us here.”

“Anything I can do to help, but I don’t think you’re going to find anything,” she replied.

“Why’s that?” Dean asked.

The woman frowned, “What happened to that poor woman was tragic, but it was just an accident.”

“You’re certain of that? The witness seems to think otherwise,” Sam responded.

“There was no one up there! That poor girl was just in shock. The mind can play tricks you know,” she explained.

“Well, we’d still like to take a look if that’s okay?” Riley asked.

Ms. Robertson nodded and led the way in to where the body had landed. Sam asked the lady to show him around the home so that Dean and Riley could explore and take readings. There was no EMF at the bottom of the stairs where the victim landed, so they made their way up to the second story landing. The device beeped and lit up three blips for a second, but then went back to nothing. Dean waved it around the area, but it never registered again. Riley pointed up to the third floor railing and he nodded his head, following her up the second set of stairs. As they got closer to the top floor the EMF meter lit up and screeched continuously. Dean turned it off; it was all the proof he needed.

“So, what do you think?” Riley asked.

“I think I’m starting to believe the witnesses story,” he responded.

“But Sam said no one has seen Bettie’s apparition on the third floor, just the second and down in the ballroom!”

Dean thought for a minute, “Maybe it’s not Bettie.”

“Then who?” Riley said quizzically.

“I don’t know, maybe a soldier? This was a Civil War hospital. It was a brutal war, it would have definitely created some vengeful spirits.”

Riley looked around and nodded her head, “It’s possible, I guess. But why would it attack that woman?”

“Why do spirts do anything? I have no clue.” He stated; his voice tinged with anger.

“Okay, geez, you don’t have to get all fired up about it,” Riley said, “It was just a question!”

“Well stop asking stupid questions!” he shot back.

Her mouth opened and she huffed out, offended, “What’s your problem?”

Dean looked at her and paused for a second, his expression softening, “I don’t know. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

The truth was he had no idea why he got mad. It just came out of him all of a sudden. He absentmindedly touched his arm, squeezing the skin by the Mark of Cain. Riley looked away from him and took one more pass over the third floor landing to make sure there was nothing they missed. When she finished, she brushed pass Dean and headed for the stairs. He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.

“Wait,” he said, “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me.”

She looked up at him, noting the sincerity in his eyes, “I’m not mad. Let’s go find Sam.”

He smiled down at her and pulled her in for a hug. She lingered in his warm arms for a moment and then kissed him quickly before heading down the stairs. Dean followed her and they met up with Sam at the bottom. Ms. Robertson was waiting for them by the front door and they all said thank you and that they’d be in touch. The woman locked up as they headed back to the Impala.

That evening, the three of them went back and staked out the house from the street, watching for any kind of disturbance. All was quiet for the majority of the evening, but Dean argued that if no one was around for the ghost to haunt, then they weren’t going to get any answers. They decided to go back inside and see what they could see. Sam and Riley stood watch as Dean picked the front door lock. With a loud click the door unlocked, and he entered the building and waved them in behind him. Flashlights in hand, they each made their way into the center hall. The house was quiet, a little too quiet, and an uneasy feeling settled over them as they moved further into the space.

“We should split up,” Sam suggested, “We’ll cover more ground that way.”

Riley nodded in agreement, but Dean shook his head, “No, I’m not letting her go off by herself.”

“You’re not _letting_ me?” she asked derisively.

“No, I’m not letting a _woman_ go off by herself to hunt down a ghost,” he said chauvinistically, “let the men handle this sweetheart.”

That was it; Riley had enough, “What the hell is your issue today, Dean? Who the hell do you think you are telling me what to do?”

“Well I sure as hell ain’t letting a _woman_ tell me what to do!” he responded.

“Dean! What’s going on?” Sam asked, confused by his brother’s sudden pig-headedness.

“She should wait in the car,” he continued, “This isn’t a place for her!”

Sam argued back, “She’s a hunter, Dean! It’s not like she’s a civilian! You know she can handle herself. Besides it’s just a spirit, it’s not like it’s some big, scary monster we’ve never encountered before.”

“Um…guys! Can we stop arguing for a minute,” Riley said as she looked past the two brothers.

A woman in Victorian clothing appeared at the piano, her back to them as she started tickling the ivories, a lovely melody filling the air. All three of them stared at her and waited for her to do something, but she just continued to play. When she finished the song, she turned to look back at them and then disappeared without a word.

“Where did it go?” Dean said, as he looked around the room.

Sam pondered for a moment, “That was definitely Bettie. It looked just like the picture I found of her.”

They waited for a few minutes, but nothing else happened.

Riley’s face lit up with realization, “Guys, it was just a residual haunting, a psychic impression. She’s just on a loop, replaying her greatest hits.”

“Like a death echo, only she’s not reliving her death, just a random slice of her life,” Sam added.

Riley nodded, “Exactly! She can’t be behind the murder the other night. A ghost is either intelligent or residual, never both!”

“Nice work for a skirt,” Dean added.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of your misogynistic comments today!” Riley spat out.

Dean swung his arm out and slapped her hard across the face, “Don’t talk back to me, bitch!”

Sam grabbed him by his collar and pushed him away from her and back against the wall. Riley stood there holding her face, refusing to cry even though it hurt bad enough that tears had welled up in her eyes on impact. Something was obviously wrong with him; he had been so sweet lately and now he was acting like a dickhead with a superiority complex! She watched as he struggled with his brother, but Sam threw a punch to his jaw and he slumped up against the wall in defeat.

“What just happened?” he asked confused.

Sam looked over to Riley who was still holding her cheek, and Dean’s eyes followed to her, widening when he realized what had just transpired. He went to move to her, but Sam pushed him back.

“I’m not gonna hurt her,” Dean said, “Riley, I’m sorry!”

“You’ve been saying that a lot today!” she pointed out sourly.

He tried again to get to her, Sam still holding onto him tightly, but he gave his brother a look and Sam finally let go. When he reached out for Riley, she flinched back instinctively, hurting his feelings a bit. He didn’t mean to hurt her, he didn’t know what was going on with him today, but he had his suspicions that the Mark might have something to do with it; although he didn’t know why it had decided to act up now. Hanging his head down, he apologized again, and walked away and out to the car ashamed of himself.

Sam and Riley came out together shortly after and they decided to call it a night and go back to the hotel. They had to do more research anyway. They obviously didn’t know who they were dealing with yet. This job was going to take longer than they anticipated. When they got ready to go to sleep, Dean lifted the covers up to let Riley slide in, but she hesitated, and looked over at Sam.

“If you don’t mind, Sam, would it be okay to share with you tonight?” She asked.

Dean took the question like a knife to the heart, and when Sam agreed and they both looked over at him like he was some kind of monster, he turned away from them without a word. Riley got into Sam’s bed while he stayed up another hour on the net looking for anything they missed about the house and the family. He finally went to sleep, turning off the last lamp in the room and climbing into bed next to Riley, but keeping respectful distance. Dean heard the tell-tale squeaking of the mattress as his brother got into bed with his girl, and his face flushed red with anger; a jealous rage surging through his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

In the morning, Sam was the first to wake up and he got right onto his laptop to start up his research again. Whatever was in the house seemed to be affecting Dean in some way, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it before anything else happened. He wasn’t sure his brother’s relationship was going to survive if it did, and he didn’t want to see them unhappy anymore. They had just gotten their shit together! He didn’t turn up much more, and decided he had to visit the historical society to see if they had any further records. He left Riley and his brother a note, saying he’d be back in a few hours. They were still both sleeping and he didn’t want to disturb them.

He got dressed and left, quietly closing the door behind him, but the clack of the lock was enough to wake Dean up. Another night of restless sleep had made him a bit cranky, and all he wanted to do was snuggle up next to Riley but he was afraid she’d reject him again. Could he really blame her after what he did the night before? With a bit of trepidation, he moved to the other bed, slid under the covers, and snaked his arm around Riley. His nose buried into the back of her head, and he could still smell the shampoo she had used yesterday, although it was faint. She stirred, and placed her hand over his again, like she had the day before back at the bunker. It lingered there for a moment, but when she woke fully and realized he had burrowed in next to her she turned sharply and placed her hand on his chest, pushing him away.

“Riley, don’t be like that,” Dean said pleadingly.

She looked back at him with a mixture of hurt and alarm, “Don’t be like that? Dean you hit me yesterday!”

He closed his eyes, silently chastising himself, “I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

When he opened his eyes again, she stared back at him and she could see that he was truly sorry and a bit upset. His hazel eyes had turned a deep green and his face had fallen as if she had kicked his puppy. She thought they had gotten past all this; that whatever darkness she had seen in him previously had gone, but obviously he still had some issues that he wasn’t dealing with. He looked at her waiting for any kind of response, and she couldn’t take those sad eyes boring into her anymore.

Bringing her lips to meet his, she kissed him rigidly at first, but when his arm moved around her waist and his mouth pressed harder into hers she relaxed into it. Their tongues mingled with each other’s and his hand trailed up and down her back, easing out any tension that was left over. When his hand slid down over her rear and down the back of her thigh, she lifted her leg up over his, wrapping her calf around his knee. Her hand smoothed down his chest, toying with the fabric of his tee-shirt, and she could feel the flex in his muscles underneath. His lips found her neck and he left wet kisses on the skin there, licking intermittently and then taking her ear lobe between his teeth and sending shivers up her spine as his hot breath tickled her ear. A throaty moan tumbled out of her lips as he kissed the sweet spot on her neck, setting the wings in her belly aflutter.

Riley’s hand roamed further down Dean’s stomach and stopped to finger the hem of his shirt, but he grabbed her wrist gently and coaxed her down further to the bulge in his track pants, groaning in pleasure at her touch. He kissed her again and breathed heavy into her mouth as her hand massaged his hard-on through the fabric. Dean rolled her onto her back and positioned himself between her legs grinding his hips into her, causing her to gasp as his erection pushed against her. Her hand now twisted up into his hair as she reveled in the sensation of his weight on top of her and she could feel the fevered wetness pool between her legs.

Dean stopped all of his movements and pulled his head up to look down at her. His eyes were no longer soft and loving, but hard and emotionless. Riley asked him what was wrong, and he just stared back at her with indifference, sending a shiver up her spine for a very different reason this time. When he finally spoke his voice was cold and calculated.

“Is this what you were doing with my brother last night?” he asked gruffly.

“What? No, why would you think that?” she responded, unsure of what was happening.

“Did you spread your little slut legs for him while I was sleeping?” his voice got louder and rougher.

Riley looked up at him with fear in her eyes. Whatever had been happening to him was happening again. Dean had the upper hand in this position, he was stronger than her, and Sam wasn’t here to help her. She tried her best to mollify him, but it didn’t seem to matter what she said or did, he just got angrier and angrier. As she tried to wrestle her way out from under him, he squeezed her wrists in his fists and pinned her down to the mattress with a sickening smile on his face.

“You think I don’t see the way you two look at each other, undressing one another with your eyes?!”

“Dean, please, just let me go!” she pleaded.

She looked all around to see if there was anything nearby that she could somehow use to help herself and her eyes were suddenly drawn to the mark on his arm again. It was glowing red; she hadn’t imagined it that morning! Whatever that thing was, it was no birthmark. Dean shook her violently and drew her attention back to his face, which was now screwed up into a mask of rage.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

Just then Sam appeared behind him and placed a handful of salt over his mouth. Dean struggled to get away, but his brother held his hand firmly in place and after a few seconds a dark shadow flew out from his body and Dean collapsed sideways onto the bed, a thick black liquid oozing from his nose. Riley scrambled up and off the bed, staring down at Dean as he slowly came to. Sam breathed heavily as he waited for his brother to return to normal.

“What the hell just happened?” Riley yelled as she scrambled off the bed.

“It was ghost possession,” Sam replied, “I was on my way to the Historical Society when I put two and two together.”

“Ghost possession?” Riley asked, “Since when can a ghost possess someone?”

Sam had almost forgotten she was somewhat of a newbie, “It’s rare, but we’ve seen it before.”

Dean sat up, listening to the exchange and wiped the ectoplasm from his nose. He was gonna kill that ghost! It was like it was trying to ruin everything he had fixed with Riley. She was still eyeing him now with suspicion and anguish. He followed her gaze and brought his eyes down to the Mark of Cain, he wasn’t sure why she had zeroed in on it, but when he looked back up at her she looked vexed.

“What is that thing on your arm, really?” she demanded.

Dean looked over to Sam, who was frowning, before he spoke, “I told you. It’s a birthmark.”

“A birthmark that glows?” Riley challenged.

“It was glowing?” Sam asked with worry evident on his face.

Riley nodded, “Yeah, just now when he was attacking me, and last night when he was having a nightmare. I saw it glow then too, but dismissed it thinking I was imagining things. Obviously, I wasn’t, so somebody better tell me what the hell is going on or I’m walking out that door and you will never see me again!”

“Whoa, whoa, let’s not do anything rash, Riley!” Dean exclaimed, “I can explain.”

She stood there with her arms folded over her chest. Dean stood up slowly and walked towards her, but stopped when she started backing away. He had really done it now. She was officially afraid of him again. _That’s what you get for keeping secrets,_ he thought and he took a deep breath before he started to disclose his.

“It’s the Mark of Cain,” he stated.

That brought Riley up short, “Wait, what?”

“As in the biblical Cain and Abel, I took it from him so I could defeat Abaddon.” Dean clarified.

Riley looked over to Sam, who confirmed what Dean was saying was true. “I’ve heard that name before, back in…”

“Wisconsin, when I was a demon.” He admitted aloud.

“A demon?” Riley asked, unbelieving.

“Riley, why do you think I treated you so badly there? I told you I wasn’t myself.”

She still couldn’t wrap her head around it, “So you were possessed, but you were fighting other demons?”

“No, I wasn’t possessed. I _was_ a demon. It was the demon version of me!” Dean confessed.

Riley’s legs suddenly felt weak and she found herself sinking into the bed across from them. She kept her head down as Dean went on, telling her everything about Abaddon, the Mark, dying at the hands of a rogue angel named Metatron, and the mark bringing him back to life as a demon. Apparently, she had Sam and Castiel to thank for bringing him back from the darkness and apparently there was also some kind of cure for demons. When he finished his story, Dean knelt down in front of her and put his hands on her knees, trying to look up at her bowed head.

“Riley, you’ve got to believe me! I never meant to hurt you.” He pleaded with her.

When she brought her face up a tear slid down her cheek, and Dean wiped it away with his thumb and moved his hand behind her neck, pulling her close to him and holding her tenderly. It took a moment, but she finally wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the embrace. Sam looked on as the two of them seemed to make up. He was rooting for his brother to make this relationship work. If he knew his brother as well as he thought he did, Dean loved this girl. It’s not something he would openly admit, but Sam knew his tells. They just had to get past all this bad mojo that was being thrown in their direction and Sam was ready to get this bout of trouble packed away.

Sam cleared his throat to get their attention and said, “Let’s get this case solved so we can get home and put all this behind us.”

“Oh I’m right there with you, Sammy,” Dean said, “I gonna kill this son of a bitch myself.”


	4. Chapter 4

At the Historical Society, Ms. Robertson helped them track down any records or photographs they had on the house, although she was skeptical as to why it was relevant to their case. Riley just told her they were following a hunch and she took her place at the big wooden table to pour through the contents of the four boxes placed in front of them. Sam and Dean also sorted through the pieces and tried to put the puzzle together. They boys were still working on their boxes when Riley moved on the final one. There was a bunch of old photographs of the Brown family, mostly of Bettie and her collections from around the world, but there was another woman that they hadn’t come across yet. The back of the photograph had the name “Tilly” written on it in ink.

“Ms. Robertson, who’s this?” Riley asked as the boys looked up from their piles.

“Oh that’s Mathilda Brown,” she announced, “Bettie’s sister. She was the quieter of the two.”

Sam piped up, “What can you tell us about her?”

“Well we don’t know much, but what we do know is pretty juicy. Tilly was married to Thomas Sweeney in 1884, and it was trouble in paradise soon after,” Ms. Robertson began.

“What kind of trouble?” Sam inquired.

She continued, “Apparently he was pretty abusive and he didn’t seem to care who knew about it. Back then a man’s word was law and a husband could pretty much do what he wanted without question. But Miss Bettie didn’t like what he was doing to her sister and went around to the neighbors getting eye witness testimony to use against him in court. Miss Tilly ended up winning her divorce proceedings which was almost unheard of at that time. He ended up losing everything too! Miss Tilly got the house and all their possessions.”

“The house, was that the Ashton Villa?” Dean asked.

“Oh no, it was a smaller house her father built for them after they were married,” Ms. Robertson responded, “Tilly did take her children back to the family home though. I guess she didn’t want to live with the memories of her abusive husband after the divorce.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame her,” Riley said, and Dean hoped that she didn’t feel that way about him.

“The husband, Thomas Sweeney, how did he die?” Dean pressed.

“Let me see here,” she said as she dug through some old death certificates in a filing cabinet, “Ah, here it is…say’s he died of natural causes about ten years later. That doesn’t stop the rumors that Tilly had him murdered though. That story has been widely circulated for years and it’s become part of our town’s local folklore. There’s no truth to it though.”

“No?” Sam said.

Ms. Robertson shook her head, “Of course not! That would be ridiculous! Why would the coroner record it as natural causes then?”

“Well it’s certainly interesting,” Dean offered, “One more question…where was he buried?”

 

*****

 

They waited until nightfall to head over to the old Broadway Cemetery in the heart of town. It was going to be tricky digging up the body of Thomas Sweeney considering the size and location of the graveyard. There was a small church to one side of the lot, but the other three sides were surrounded by main roads. It would be a miracle if they didn’t get caught, but they were sure they had the right ghost. If Sweeney was really the abusive type that would explain why Dean had gone all Chris Brown on Riley while he was possessed, and if the rumors were true and he was murdered, that would also explain why he was still around. They hid out amongst the grave markers until well after midnight so that the traffic had died down and got to work.

Riley kept a look out while the boys did the digging. It took a little over an hour before they hit casket, and pried open the top of the old wooden coffin. Sam gave Dean a boost out of the trench and then Riley and his brother lifted him out. Riley salted the bones while Sam squeezed out the lighter fluid and then Dean lit the matchbook and set the remains ablaze. They didn’t stick around to watch, fearing someone would notice the flames and report them, so they quickly gathered their things and left. The Impala was parked around the corner with all their stuff packed, and they sped off out of town and back towards Kansas.

Sam had fallen asleep against the window of the front passenger door and Dean was quiet as he drove. In the backseat, Riley was absentmindedly looking out the window. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened the past two days. While she knew Dean’s aggression towards her was because of Thomas Sweeney’s ghost, she was still a bit shaken by how violent he had gotten so quickly. After what he told her about the Mark of Cain, she was certain that whatever curse he was made to bear because of it had only added to his ferocity. She had to decide whether or not she was going to be willing to endure the struggle with him. On one hand, she really liked him; she would be lying if she said she didn’t have strong feelings for him. On the other hand, they hadn’t known each other for that long, and if she was going to get out, it would be better to do it before she fell for him completely. It would be too late then.

“You okay back there?” Dean puzzled, his eyes on her in the rear view mirror.

She looked back at him with a gentle smile, “Yeah, I’m just thinking.”

“About what?” he asked.

“Nothing important,” she lied.

His eyes lingered on her for a brief moment and he smirked, before looking back at the road ahead of them. Riley continued to stare at him. She studied his face, at least what she could still see from the angle in the mirror, and she felt her heart drop at the thought of leaving him again. It might be the right thing to do, but in that moment she had made her decision. She couldn’t leave him. Whatever was in store for her, for Dean, she was going to face head on. If that meant things would get bumpy, then she would just have to learn how to navigate around it. The certainty of the Mark of Cain becoming problematic stood out clearly in her mind, but she wasn’t afraid of it. She was going to do everything she could to help him through it.

When they got back to the bunker, they all took a nap. Dean was exhausted from driving all night and was the first one to crash. Riley took a shower and then climbed in next to his sleeping form. She brushed her hand over his face lightly and kissed his freckled nose before snuggling up into his chest. In his sleep he managed to wrap his arms around her and pull her even closer. The need to be near her was instinctual.

After a few hours, Dean woke and watched her sleep. She was snoring lightly, which he thought was kind of cute, and he smiled thinking that maybe his luck was turning. He pushed any thought of being bad for her out of his mind for the time being. His usual M.O. of keeping the women in his life at a distance wasn’t going to work with this one. He wanted her to stick around, and he would just have to do everything in his power to protect her from the hell that was his life. It was selfish, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to be without her.


End file.
